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Etihad to loan pilots to competing UAE airline Emirates

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — The Abu Dhabi-based long-haul carrier Etihad will loan pilots to competing Dubai-based Emirates under a new program.

Emirates acknowledged the program in a statement Sunday. Etihad did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Emirates CEO Tim Clark acknowledged in April that the airline was "a tad short in pilots." Meanwhile, Etihad announced last week it posted losses of $1.52 billion in the last fiscal year.

Emirates and Etihad are both government-owned airlines in the UAE, a federation of seven sheikhdoms on the Arabian Peninsula. Both compete in the long-haul carrier market, using their nation's location between East and West to their advantage.

The two airlines' major airports are only some 115 kilometers (70 miles) apart from each other.

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